Food Security and Animal Husbandry in St. Thérèse and Gran Ravine
Last fall, community members in Petit Trou urgently needed support to weather the political and economic crisis affecting Haiti. Our friends and supporters gave generously to the Community Response Fund, empowering local leaders to support their communities through agricultural and community health initiatives.
Under the leadership of Agronomist Raphael Fernandez-Salvador, the Community Response Fund has been put to work initiating an agricultural cooperative among families and neighbors in two nearby communities, St. Thérèse and Gran Ravine. Under this program, households pair up to share agricultural tools and seed, as well as goats, these provided through the support of CHP and under the supervision of Raphael. Goats are a valuable resource in rural Haiti since they are resilient in the face of heat and drought and require relatively little management. They provide natural fertilizer for gardens, clear fields for planting with their foraging, and are used for meat. A goat serves as a type of savings account in that offspring or meat can be sold when an economic or social need arises.
The program launched by giving twenty families a female goat, under the agreement that they will give the first offspring to the paired family. That second family then continues the agreement with a third family. A slightly different agreement regulates how male goats are “shared” - the males are given to fewer families and used for breeding.The goat sharing is coupled with seed and tool sharing, also organized and advised by Raphael. This support is not only providing tangible help, it is also increasing collaboration and sharing of information among small farms and communities. Equal numbers of men and women represent their families as participants in the program.
While there is real enthusiasm around the program among these first two communities, the initiative has been launching in the context of a troubling situation in Haiti. Even before the Coronavirus pandemic, the economy was struggling more than usual, and food security was a serious concern. A NY Times piece from March 2 of this year noted that “The economic repercussions of Haiti's three-month countrywide lockdown are still unfolding in what was already the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, where around two-thirds of adults are estimated to be unemployed or underemployed. Haitians were decapitalised: many businesses had to close, others had to slash jobs. In a country where agriculture accounts for half of all jobs, several farmers told Reuters they do not know how they will acquire seeds and fertilizer to plant anew.” Now as concerns over the Coronavirus grow, and with the memory of the cholera outbreak still present, the community is bracing for what is to come.
In the context of this challenging situation, we are more determined than ever to continue investing in one family at a time, and we are grateful for the chance to do so under the leadership and expertise of leaders like Raphael.